All News articles – Page 1815

  • News

    Leeds leads

    2008-06-18T00:00:00Z

    Your article on the growing legal scene in Manchester was entitled 'second city?' (see [2008] Gazette, 22 May, 18), but it did not substantiate that headline. Rather, you factually reported the undoubted strengths of the Manchester region.

  • News

    Law reports

    2008-06-18T00:00:00Z

    MEDIA/ENTERTAINMENT Human rights - celebrities - children - photographs David Murray (by his litigation friends (1) Neil Murray (2) Joanne Murray) v Big Pictures ...

  • News

    Local government law

    2008-06-18T00:00:00Z

    By Nicholas Dobson, Pinsent Masons, Leeds Pleasing the people: legitimate expectation ...

  • News

    Mind the pay gap

    2008-06-18T00:00:00Z

    I read last week's letter 'cheap labour' with interest (see [2008] Gazette, 29 May, 11). There is undoubtedly an issue with regard to employees within the same organisation being paid differently to staff in similar roles. I do not think that it is contentious to say that this problem is ...

  • News

    Regulator: solicitors flouting referral rules

    2008-06-18T00:00:00Z

    By Jonathan Rayner Fresh evidence has emerged suggesting that solicitors, rather than claims management companies, are largely responsible for breaches ...

  • News

    File guide

    2008-06-18T00:00:00Z

    As a niche specialist legal aid practitioner I have noticed that any enhancement on civil claims made to the north-east regional office rarely exceeds 30% on selected items, whereas the Supreme Court Costs Office tends to be more generous. Almost every case taken to a review by an independent adjudicator ...

  • News

    The ins and outs of earning power

    2008-06-18T00:00:00Z

    David Marshall assesses the impact of the Ogden Tables on deciding loss-of-earnings claims in personal injury cases A year ago, ...

  • News

    LPA delay

    2008-06-18T00:00:00Z

    I am exceptionally concerned at the length of time it is taking for the registration of a lasting power of attorney (LPA) at the Office of the Public Guardian. An application was made on behalf of my elderly client on 29 February to register the power for ...

  • News

    Deals of the week

    2008-06-18T00:00:00Z

    Liquid deal: City firms CMS Cameron McKenna and Field Fisher Waterhouse advised Luminar Group Holdings, the UK’s largest operator of licensed late-night venues, on a corporate reorganisation and the subsequent sale of 26 bars to Cavendish Bars, advised by City firm Berwin Leighton ...

  • News

    Cry for help

    2008-06-18T00:00:00Z

    Can I draw together three recent threads of correspondence in these pages? 1. The anonymous solicitor who wrote describing how they had specialised in a now contracted sector of work and, while too young and too poor to retire, was apparently considered too old to be re-trained elsewhere ...

  • News

    Crime doesn't pay

    2008-06-18T00:00:00Z

    The litigator graduated fee scheme was introduced solely to cut costs and defence firms are struggling to cope, alleges John Storer ...

  • News

    Complaints delay

    2008-06-18T00:00:00Z

    As a practising barrister not infrequently asked to advise solicitors regarding complaints to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), I endorse much of what Gregory Treverton-Jones QC had to say as reported in the news item 'Barrister puts SRA in the dock' (see [2008] Gazette, 8 May, 3).

  • News

    Legal Complaints Service hits improvement targets

    2008-06-18T00:00:00Z

    GOAL: 67% of files closed within three months of receipt The Legal Complaints Service (LCS) achieved year-on-year improvements in all of ...

  • News

    City firm report increased mid-market competition as pool of M&A deals shrinks

    2008-06-18T00:00:00Z

    HARD MARKETING: magic circle chasing smaller transactions as credit crunch bites Magic circle firms have begun pitching for middle-market business as the pool of blockbusting merger and acquisition deals shrinks, according to competitors outside the circle. At the same ...

  • News

    Turn cold calls into cash, solicitors told

    2008-06-18T00:00:00Z

    Solicitors should make 'converting enquiries into business' their top priority, a leading marketing consultant advised this week. Speaking at the Law Society ?property section's spring conference, Ian Cooper, managing director of Cooper Communications, said there was no point spending money on marketing if firms failed to turn calls ...

  • News

    Get down to business

    2008-06-18T00:00:00Z

    Sue Nelson's response to the article by Viv Williams was disappointing. We face enormous challenges in the next few years when the Clementi reforms come in. Add the housing market downturn, the credit crunch and continuing legal aid pay cuts, and I believe we have reached a tipping ...

  • News

    Hounding out bad law

    2008-06-18T00:00:00Z

    Dangerous dogs legislation must be improved to be fit for purpose, argues Chris Laurence

  • News

    Applicants

    2008-06-18T00:00:00Z

    The number of applicants for Queen's Counsel (QC) plummeted by more than a third this year to 247, down from 333 in the 2006 competition and 443 in 2005, according to figures released last week by the independent selection panel. ...

  • News

    'Solicitors must plan ahead or risk losing everything'

    2008-06-18T00:00:00Z

    Sole practitioners risk intervention and 'losing everything they have worked for' if they neglect planning for the day they stop practising - delegates at last weekend's annual conference of the Sole Practitioners Group (SPG) in Brighton were warned. Guildford-based probate solicitor Jennifer Margrave said the Code of Conduct ...

  • News

    Web advice to help lawyers with change

    2008-06-18T00:00:00Z

    The Sole Practitioners Group (SPG) is launching a new online toolkit to help members cope with changes in the legal sector, including the introduction of alternative business structures (ABSs). The toolkit, sponsored by Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBoS), will give support and guidance on setting up and running ...